1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a molten metal probe used mainly for sampling and analyzing a sample of molten metal such as molten steel.
2. Description of Related Art
As is publicly known conventionally, a molten metal probe is dipped into molten steel of a converter or the like by an elevating apparatus referred to as a sub-lance, pulled up therefrom and utilized for carrying out analysis of content or the like of molten steel.
A probe main body is provided with a flow inlet for flowing in molten steel at a side portion thereof, the inside of the probe main body is installed with a deoxidizing chamber for passing therethrough the flowed-in molten steel and a sampling chamber which also serves as a temperature measuring chamber (hereinafter called as the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber) for solidifying the deoxidized molten steel in a stored state, and a temperature sensor is arranged in the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber.
Normally, the deoxidizing chamber and the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber are formed by a vessel which can be regarded as a single piece as a whole. The vessel is constituted by bringing a pair of small vessels opposedly in abutment with each other and interposing a partition plate therebetween, the deoxidizing chamber is provided by the upper small vessel with the partition plate as a boundary and the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber is provided by the lower small vessel. Further, a through hole is formed in the partition plate and the temperature sensor which is inserted into the deoxidizing chamber from a top wall of the upper small vessel, is inserted into the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber via the through hole. Further, an introductory hole communicating with the flow inlet of the probe main body is opened at a side portion of the upper small vessel providing the deoxidizing chamber.
Hence, molten steel which flows in via the introductory hole, firstly passes through the deoxidizing chamber, passes through the through hole of the partition plate and advances into and is stored in the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber. Molten steel which fills the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber and successively flows therein is stored in the deoxidizing chamber.
The sampling/temperature-measuring chamber is surrounded by a wall made of a metal, solidifies swiftly molten steel stored there and provides a small lump of solidified molten steel as a sample for instrumental analysis such as emission spectra analysis or combustion chemical analysis.
Molten steel stored in the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber gradually solidifies from the surrounding and a temperature measuring unit of the temperature sensor is made to face a portion where the molten steel finally solidifies by which solidification temperature data for determining carbon content of the molten steel is provided.
According to the constitution of the conventional technology, the pair of small vessels are brought into abutment with each other via the partition plate and are integrated and held at inside of the probe main body to constitute a vessel the total of which is regarded as a single piece and therefore, the assembling operation is not facilitated.
The probe main body needs a paper pipe having a large diameter for constituting an outer cylinder and a paper pipe having a small diameter for constituting an inner cylinder and the inner cylinder is fitted into the outer cylinder in a state in which the vessel is integrated at inside of the inner cylinder.
When the probe main body is dipped into molten steel, the molten steel which flows thereinto via the introductory hole, firstly passes through the deoxidizing chamber, passes through the through hole of the partition plate, is stored in the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber and fills this chamber, and subsequently further molten steel which successively flows thereinto is stored in the deoxidizing chamber.
As is publicly known, the molten steel includes a large amount of oxygen and therefore, the deoxidizing chamber is previously charged with a deoxidizer such as an Aluminum piece. Therefore, the flowed-in molten steel is deoxidized in passing through the deoxidizing chamber and stored and solidified in the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber in a deoxidized state. However, the molten steel which has flowed in from the flow inlet, flows only through a single path reaching the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber via the deoxidizing chamber and therefore, when the deoxidizer is melted and exhausted by the initially flowed-in molten steel, molten steel which successively flows thereinto is no longer deoxidized. Therefore, the successive undeoxidized molten steel flows into the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber and is mixed with molten steel which has formally advanced thereinto and stored there, as a result, there poses a problem in which blow holes owing to nondeoxidization is caused in the solidified sample.
Meanwhile, the probe main body which has been pulled up from molten steel is dropped from a high location toward a floor face. Then, the vessel which has sampled the sample is taken out from the probe main body, the solidified sample is taken out from the vessel and the sample is carried by carrying means such as a pneumatic tube for instrumental analysis. However, in the case of the conventional technology in which the deoxidizing chamber and the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber are constituted by the vessel which is regarded as a single piece as a whole, the sample which has solidified in the sampling/temperature-measuring chamber and unnecessary solidified metal which has solidified in the deoxidizing chamber are connected to each other to thereby form one small lump and therefore, it is difficult to disassemble the pair of small vessels constituting the vessel and the partition plate and it is difficult to take out the solidified sample from the vessel. Further, even when the solidified sample is succeeded to take out from the vessel fortunately, before carrying the solidified sample which is an object of analysis, unless the large unnecessary solidified metal connected to the solidified sample is separated by a cutter or the like, the sample cannot be carried by the pneumatic tube.